GST refund processing expedited: automatic GSTN-to-Customs transmission enables faster sanctioning of eligible refund claims.
A special drive was launched to expedite GST refunds filed by 30.04.2018, including IGST on exports and unutilized ITC, with CBIC implementing transmission of refund records from GSTN to Customs EDI to enable automatic sanctioning where exporters misclassified exports as domestic supplies, subject to absence of other errors. Circulars clarify refund treatment for ISDs, composition dealers, exports of services, supplies to SEZs, LUT requirements and the scope of Rule 96(10). Physical submission of FORM GST RFD-01A and supporting documents to the jurisdictional tax office is required for processing.

Constitution of Authority for Advance Ruling: membership updated and additional charge assigned altering AAR composition and notification duties.
The Tamil Nadu Authority for Advance Ruling under the Tamil Nadu Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 is amended by administrative order to appoint Shri S. Vijayakumar to hold full additional charge as Joint Commissioner (Advance Ruling Authority) in the Office of the Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Chennai, and to update the Authority's membership; Commissioners and trade associations are instructed to notify officers and assessees of the change.

GST refund clearance: special fortnight requires FORM GST RFD 01A filing with ARN and prompt compliance with deficiency memos.
A Special Refund Fortnight from 31.05.2018 to 14.06.2018 mandates filing refund applications on the common portal using FORM GST RFD-01A, which generates an ARN; the ARN and a printout of FORM GST RFD-01A with all required documentary evidence must be submitted to the jurisdictional tax authority, and taxpayers must promptly address any deficiency memos to enable disposal of refunds.

GST refund clearance: fortnight initiative to expedite disposal of pending refund applications and mandate submission of supporting documents.
Organization of a GST refund clearance fortnight to expedite disposal of refund applications filed up to the cutoff date, requiring taxpayers to promptly comply with deficiency memos and submit manual/hard copies of online claims with supporting documents to jurisdictional officers; a central nodal officer is appointed to assist and taxpayers are directed to follow specified procedural circulars.

Refund claims procedures: specified category returns suffice for ISD, composition and non-resident taxpayers to seek refunds.
An ISD, composition taxpayer or non-resident taxable person need not file FORM GSTR-1 or FORM GSTR-3B to claim refunds; their category-specific returns (FORM GSTR-6, FORM GSTR-4, FORM GSTR-5 respectively) suffice. For specified past tax periods, refund claims of integrated tax/cess on exports or supplies to SEZs are allowed up to the aggregate declared in specified GSTR-3B columns where portal validation had previously limited claims. Exporters can claim refund of unutilized compensation cess credit on inputs for zero-rated supplies under bond/LUT, but such cess credit cannot be used to pay integrated tax; LUT/bond is not required for zero-rated exempt or non-GST goods exports. The restriction under rule 96(10) applies only to exporters directly receiving goods from suppliers who availed certain notifications.

IT grievance redressal for GST portal glitches enables filing relief and potential waiver of penalties for affected taxpayers.
An IT Grievance Redressal Mechanism addresses GST Common Portal malfunctions that prevent classes of taxpayers from filing statutory forms or returns. Designated nodal officers receive evidence-backed applications which GSTN verifies electronically; GSTN forwards identified systemic issues with proposed solutions to the IT Grievance Redressal Committee (GIC). The Committee may recommend allowing filing or amendment of submissions and recommend waiver of fines or penalties where glitches caused non-compliance; remedial actions and notifications are subject to placement before the GST Council.

Integrated tax on warehoused goods payable at final clearance, with valuation as the higher of transaction or into-bond value.
Integrated tax on imported goods deposited in a customs bonded warehouse is payable only at final clearance for home consumption on filing the ex-bond bill of entry. Valuation at final clearance is the higher of the transaction value or the into-bond valuation, and value additions during warehousing are included in the final taxable value.

Refund threshold bars processing of trivial claims; filings below threshold will not be acknowledged or ledger debited.
Registered persons should refrain from filing refund applications in Form GSR RFD-01A on the common portal when the claim is below one thousand rupees; no Acknowledgement Reference Number will be generated and neither the electronic cash nor credit ledger will be debited.

e-way bill requirement reinstated for intra territory goods movements, mandating generation for consignments commencing and terminating within the Union Territory.
The notice reinstates the e-way bill obligation for consignments whose movement commences and terminates within the Union Territory of Daman & Diu, following rescission of the prior exemption; from 25th May, 2018 traders must generate e-way bills for intra territory goods movements and trade associations are directed to notify members to ensure compliance.

Interception of conveyances must follow prescribed procedures; designated officers authorized to inspect, detain, release or confiscate goods.
Interception, inspection, detention, release and confiscation of goods in movement must be conducted under the procedures prescribed in the referenced circular and applicable GST law and rules. The Assistant Commissioner (Preventive) is authorized to designate officers as proper officers to execute these inspection and enforcement functions, and those proper officers are required to strictly follow the circular's procedural steps when acting on conveyances and consignments. Stakeholders are directed to disseminate the procedures to trade and the public.

E way bill compliance controls interception, inspection, detention and confiscation procedures under GST with mandated electronic reporting.
Circular sets out the procedure for interception, electronic verification of e-way bills and inspection of goods in transit, designates proper officers for interception, and prescribes the sequence of prescribed forms and reporting obligations (including GST MOV-01 to GST MOV-11 and GST EWB-03). It mandates electronic ledger entries for demands and payments, temporary IDs for unregistered persons, portal uploads of reports and order summaries in Form GST-DRC-07, auction and remittance procedures for unpaid liabilities, and application of corresponding State/UT and IGST provisions.

Refund threshold prohibition: refunds below statutory minimum blocked at filing, no ARN generated or ledger debited.
Registered persons must be prevented from filing FORM GST RFD-01A on the common portal when the claimed refund is below the statutory threshold; in such cases no Acknowledgement Reference Number shall be generated and neither the electronic cash nor credit ledger shall be debited, thereby blocking low-value refund claims at the filing stage to avoid frivolous claims and administrative burden.

GST Council decisions on ratification, TRAN 1 extension, GSTN ownership, return reform, warehoused goods IGST, digital payments and sugar relief.
The Council ratified specified Central notifications with State mirror notifications deemed ratified; recorded GIC decisions including TRAN-1 filing extension to 10 May 2018; noted revenue shortfalls, approved release of March 2018 compensation and study of high-shortfall States; approved in-principle GSTN conversion to 100% government ownership with HR protections; in-principle clarified that supplies of goods within Customs bonded warehouses would not attract IGST until home-consumption clearance (subject to West Bengal views); formed Groups of Ministers to examine digital-payment incentives and a sugar-cess/ethanol-rate package; approved principles of a three stage new return filing system with invoice-based credit and staged withdrawal of provisional credit; and set a schedule for intra-State e-way bill implementation.

GST portal grievance mechanism: nodal officer appointed to accept evidence-based applications and escalate technical glitches for resolution.
A designated Nodal Officer is appointed to receive applications when a demonstrable GST portal glitch prevents completion of a legal process; applicants must supply evidence of a bona fide attempt to comply. The nodal officer will collate and forward such applications to GSTN, which will verify electronic records, identify issues affecting multiple taxpayers, and refer systemic problems with suggested solutions to the IT Grievance Redressal Committee.

Taxability of tenancy rights: transfer for tenancy premium treated as taxable service, residential dwelling grants exempt.
Transfer of tenancy rights against tenancy premium is a supply of service liable to GST as a form of lease or tenancy; stamp duty or registration does not exclude such transfers from GST. Granting tenancy rights for use as a residential dwelling is exempt under the residential renting exemption, whereas surrender of tenancy rights by an outgoing tenant for a portion of the premium is taxable.

Interception of conveyances: procedures for inspection, detention, release, confiscation, bond, payment and auction under GST.
Designated proper officers may intercept conveyances to verify prescribed documents and the e-way bill; if documents are not produced or defects found they record the statement in FORM GST MOV-01, issue FORM GST MOV-02 for physical verification, upload Part A of FORM GST EWB-03 within 24 hours, complete inspection within three working days (or obtain FORM GST MOV-03 extension), record results in FORM GST MOV-04 and Part B of FORM GST EWB-03, and either release by FORM GST MOV-05 or detain by FORM GST MOV-06 with notice in FORM GST MOV-07 leading to demand in FORM GST MOV-09, provisional release on bond (FORM GST MOV-08), and, if unpaid, confiscation proceedings in FORM GST MOV-10/MOV-11 and auction.

Recovery of arrears: legacy CENVAT credit and unpaid duties must be collected as GST arrears through electronic ledgers.
Amounts of wrongly availed or carried forward CENVAT credit and recoverable central excise duty or service tax that remain unrecovered under the existing law shall be recovered as arrears of tax under the CGST regime and recorded in Part II of the Electronic Liability Register (FORM GST PMT 01). Interest, penalty and late fee connected to such recoveries shall be paid from the electronic cash ledger and similarly recorded. Where recovery under the existing law is feasible it may be pursued; otherwise the prescribed GST recovery procedure applies.

Interception of conveyances for document and e-way bill verification, detention, release, and confiscation procedures specified.
Designated proper officers may intercept conveyances to verify invoices, delivery challans and e-way bills. If documents are missing or discrepancies are found, the officer records a statement in FORM GST MOV-01, issues FORM GST MOV-02 for physical verification, completes inspection within three working days (extendable by FORM GST MOV-03), reports results in FORM GST MOV-04 and uploads findings on the common portal. Detention follows under section 129 via FORM GST MOV-06 and FORM GST MOV-07; release, security, payment, objection handling (FORM GST MOV-08/MOV-09) and confiscation (FORM GST MOV-10/MOV-11) procedures and portal reporting are prescribed.

Processing of refund applications for UIN agencies: Circular guidance to be noted and circulated to stakeholders.
The Trade Notice draws attention to guidance on processing of refund applications for UIN agencies as set out in Circular No. 43/17/2018 GST from the GST Policy wing of the CBEC, and directs that the Circular's contents be communicated to trade association members and the public.

Interception of conveyances: procedures for document verification, inspection, detention, release and confiscation using prescribed forms.
Designation and powers of proper officers permit interception of conveyances for verification and inspection, with carriage and verification of the e-way bill required; prescribed forms govern recording, physical verification, reporting and release. Detention is to be effected by issuing statutory detention notices and orders specifying tax and penalty, with release possible on payment or furnishing of bond and bank guarantee; failure to pay triggers confiscation proceedings under section 130 and final orders in FORM GST MOV-11 transfer title to the Government, with demands uploaded to the electronic liability register.